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By:

Kiran D. Tare

21 August 2024 at 11:23:13 am

The Lady of Lord’s

Yastika Bhatia’s maiden Test century at Lord’s crowns the rise of an elegant wicketkeeper-batter who has quietly become indispensable to India’s new generation. Critics may say that there are flashier cricketers than Yastika Bhatia. She does not possess the raw power of a Smriti Mandhana or the aura of a Harmanpreet Kaur. She rarely dominates highlight reels or social media clips. Instead, she has built her reputation through reliability – a quality far more vital. At a time when white-ball...

The Lady of Lord’s

Yastika Bhatia’s maiden Test century at Lord’s crowns the rise of an elegant wicketkeeper-batter who has quietly become indispensable to India’s new generation. Critics may say that there are flashier cricketers than Yastika Bhatia. She does not possess the raw power of a Smriti Mandhana or the aura of a Harmanpreet Kaur. She rarely dominates highlight reels or social media clips. Instead, she has built her reputation through reliability – a quality far more vital. At a time when white-ball cricket prizes spectacle, the 24-year-old wicketkeeper-batter has become one of India’s finest practitioners of the understated virtues of timing, patience and composure. Bhatia’s 113 against England which powered the Indian women’s side to a historic win at Lord’s was not merely her maiden Test century but the first ever scored by a woman at cricket’s most celebrated venue. The innings helped India seal a comprehensive 270-run victory in the first women’s Test ever staged at Lord’s. Her hundred earned her a place on the Lord’s honours board, where generations of the game’s greatest names have been immortalised. Few entries have carried quite the same symbolism. Until now, no woman’s name had appeared there for a Test century because no women’s Test had ever been played at the ground. Bhatia’s career has mirrored the evolution of Indian women’s cricket itself. Born in Vadodara, she emerged through Gujarat’s domestic circuit at a time when opportunities for young women were expanding but remained far from abundant. A naturally gifted left-hander, she impressed selectors with a technique that appeared more classical than contemporary. Where modern batting often relies on innovation and improvisation, Bhatia’s game is rooted in balance. She plays late, favours placement over power and rarely appears rushed. Such attributes explain why coaches have long regarded her as especially suited to the demands of Test cricket, even though women are offered precious few opportunities to play the format. Modern wicketkeepers are expected to contribute almost as specialist batters while maintaining relentless concentration over long periods. Bhatia has embraced both responsibilities, becoming an important cog in an Indian side that has steadily shed its dependence on a handful of senior stars. That transformation has accelerated dramatically over the past year. India’s maiden Women’s ODI World Cup triumph marked a watershed for the sport, confirming that the country's women could finally translate promise into silverware. Although Bhatia missed that campaign after suffering an anterior cruciate ligament injury shortly before the tournament, her absence perhaps underscored her growing importance. Months of rehabilitation restored her confidence. If the World Cup represented the one that got away, Lord’s offered redemption. Returning to international cricket only recently, Bhatia produced an innings of remarkable maturity against England’s experienced attack. Her 113 came from 158 balls, balancing restraint with authority as India tightened their grip on the match. She admitted that six months earlier, while beginning rehabilitation, the idea of seeing her name on the Lord’s honours board would have seemed implausible. Those who know her were scarcely surprised. Former Indian wicketkeeper Kiran More, who has mentored Bhatia, has long spoken of her temperament rather than merely her talent. Scoring a century at Lord’s, he observed, is an ambition shared by virtually every cricketer. Achieving it after months away from the game simply reflected the resilience that had always underpinned her cricket. But hers was not a sentimental century assembled through fortune. It was a technically accomplished performance built on judgement outside off stump, crisp drives through the covers and the patience required by the longest format. It showcased precisely why Test cricket continues to matter. Unlike Twenty20, where brilliance can be compressed into a handful of overs, the five-day game rewards concentration accumulated over hours. For Indian women’s cricket, Bhatia’s century represents something larger than an individual milestone. It demonstrates the increasing depth of a side that is no longer defined solely by its biggest names. New heroes are emerging, backed by stronger domestic structures, better coaching and a professionalism unimaginable a decade ago. The honours board at Lord’s records statistics with characteristic restraint. It simply notes that Yastika Bhatia scored a century. Future generations may glance at the name without appreciating the path that led there. But Indian cricket will remember that the first woman to reach three figures at Lord’s was not merely making history. She was announcing that a new generation has arrived.

Poorest show raises doubt on Pawar’s relevance

Updated: Nov 25, 2024

With only 10 seats, the NCP (SP)’s poor results put a question mark on the party’s survival as an entity independent of Ajit Pawar

Sharad Pawar

Mumbai: Last week, Sharad Pawar flamboyantly challenged his opposition saying Sharad Pawar cha naad karaycha nahi. Loosely translated, it meant ‘don’t mess with me’. The gathered audience erupted in cheers. It was during a large public rally at Madha in Solapur. And if the response that Pawar’s rallies got was an indication of victory, the numbers should’ve been better. In other meetings, he urged the people to overthrow and defeat those who had walked away from his party, especially Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse-Patil. The voters didn’t respond though. Both politicians won. And so did Ajit Pawar who was being challenged by his own nephew, Yugendra in Baramati. A margin of more than 80,000 is no mean feat. It showed who the people chose.


While Ajit Pawar, who got the NCP party name and the clock symbol won 40 seats out of the 59 he contested, the NCP (SP) could manage to bag a mere 15 out of 86, a sharp difference in the strike rate. The electoral results have, in a way, legitimised Ajit’s leadership of the party. Soon after the results were out, Devendra Fadnavis commented that the people have recognised the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena and the results have legitimised Ajit Pawar’s NCP as the ‘real NCP’.


The real test is in constituencies where the two NCPs were in a face-off and Ajit Pawar’s party emerged with flying colours. In Indapur, the NCP defeated veteran politician Harshvardhan Patil; in Kagal, Hasan Mushrif won against NCP (SP)’s Samarjeet Ghatge and in Mumbai, Sana Malik defeated Fahad Ahmad.


The outcome of these much-watched polls puts a question mark on the future of the Sharad Pawar-led NCP. The Nationalist Congress Party has always been close to power since its inception in 1999. The only time it was away from the ruling benches was between 2014 and 2019. Sustaining a split and a loss will not be easy for the party with an ageing patriarch.


Pawar poured his energies into this election, zipping across the length and breadth of the state. It was evident to all that this would be the last election in which the senior politician would actively campaign and lead the party. At 84, Pawar is troubled by health concerns and a cracked party and family. His succession plan is now hanging in imbalance. With this election, Pawar wanted to groom a new leadership of the party with most second rung leaders having left him for Ajit. While Supriya Sule, as the party’s national working president and Jayant Patil, the state unit chief, led the party into these elections, what they have inherited is now a regional political party with only 15 members in the legislative assembly.


Most newcomers that they had bet on, have lost. Fahad Ahmad, who was being projected as the young Muslim face, lost to Nawab Malik’s daughter. Yugendra Pawar, who was fiercely supported by large sections of the Pawar family, lost by a huge margin. Despite a party spokesperson saying that young politicians prefer to be in the opposition because they can make a mark, it is hard for politicians to be away from power for too long. A party member expects a bigger exodus to Ajit Pawar. “Power is most attractive in politics. This result legitimised Ajit Pawar’s leadership and put a question mark on Supriya Sule’s ability to lead the party now. Five years is a long time to be on the wrong side of power,” he says.


The results show that the NCP (SP) has suffered the biggest setback, managing to get a little over a dozen seats after contesting 86 constituencies. Picking up the shards of a shattered party will be tough and piecing them together will be even more uphill.


Will Sule be able to pull it off? Party members aren’t sure. “Pawar is now a tired man; maybe the time for retirement has indeed come. Politicians who are hopeful of a future will not remain here. It will be a wise move for the family and the party to reunite. There’s no other way,” says a party

member.

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